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Decker
Decker is a human who has primarily worked as a gunsmith and freelancer in the Northern and Western Reaches. Early Life Born in the Southern Reach, Decker was alive long enough to be either being kidnapped or sold to slavers. As an infant, he was raised in the human equivalent of a chicken coup: Dozens of infants living in small quarters being fed only what was needed to sustain them. As soon as he was old enough to work, he was transferred to a nearby work camp and given the name "Decker." The name had no significant meaning, as it was just the next selection on a list. Although he developed into a physically strong child and a decent worker, he remained timid and quiet. Following an incident where he defended himself against an older bully by effectively punching him out, the slavers took notice of him. They began giving him more responsibilities and larger portions of food, slowly earning his loyalty and respect akin to Stockholm Syndrome. Their attempted manipulation would fail, however, when a freshly kidnapped child would be thrown into Decker's bunk: Markus Watkins. Initially, most of the other kids planned on hazing Markus, but Decker stood in the way. Markus eventually revealed that he was literally stripped from his mother's arms, watched her be executed, and then brought to the camp. Any bit of love or loyalty Decker held for the slavers vanished, understanding for the first time what was actually taking place. Using the bit of knowledge he earned by being close to the slavers, he devised a plan to sneak out of the camp. He took Watkins with him, swearing he'll do everything he can to protect him. After traveling on their own for some time, they are eventually taken in by Erica Ford, a traveling gunsmith. Ford, seeing the poor condition the two boys are in, makes them her apprentices. Gunsmiths Under Ford's guidance, Decker and Watkins became quite the young gunsmiths. They happily worked with Ford for years, traveling across the Northern Continent and soaking up all the knowledge they could. During a routine trip into the Western Reach, the trio was attacked by bandits. Ford was killed during the skirmish, leaving her supplies and business to the two young men. They buried her and moved on, deciding to take over the business and make it their own. Although they were fully capable, the duo didn't have the salesmanship that Ford possessed. Returning customers continued doing business with them, knowing the quality of the work being passed on from Ford. They were very inefficient at bringing in no clients, however. Overtime, the two found their income was slowly declining, and they were forced to look for new ways to make money. Service to Alpha Clan As their situation eventually became somewhat desperate, they answered a call from the Alpha Clan for human freelancers who were familiar with the Northern and Western Reaches. They didn't like the idea of working with the Dragoons, but the pay was good so they signed the contract. They were assigned to Raven Squad, in Idol Company of the 12th Battalion. Their primary job was to provide intelligence and reconnaissance on the regions, while occasionally joining the squad in battle as extra support. Once Raven Squad caught on to their talents as gunsmiths, part of their job became to repair the squad's weapons as well. The two served alongside Raven Squad and the Dragoons for quite some time, making their way through the Northern Reach to the Western Reach during the Alpha campaign to eradicate the remnants of Zeta Clan. During that time, Decker caught on to a tryst between Watkins and Lina, a member of Raven Squad. He kept it to himself, deciding that the less he knew the better. After the Battle of Patna, their contract expired. Lina managed to convince her sergeant, Krius, that the two were worth keeping on board for the squad's next assignment in Darheel. Krius agreed and made the arrangements. Darheel While stationed in Darheel, Decker began to notice that the once secretive tryst between Watkins and Lina was evolving into a full on relationship. He expressed his concern, but Watkins waived him off. When Lina discovers she is pregnant, she conspires with Watkins and comes up with a plan to run away with him. Decker thinks its a bad idea and shows concern for Watkins' safety, but its to no avail. Desertion Shortly after Watkins sneaks out of the city to runaway with Lina, Lina shows up to their flat. Decker tells her that he already left, and she tells him about a small cabin outside of the town that the Alpha Clan has used to hold captives, explaining that if Decker doesn't hear from her by morning to assume that they took Watkins there. Once she leaves, Decker prepares for the next day by packing up all of his gear and loading his primary weapons. He doesn't hear from Lina in the morning, so he takes his gear and sneaks out of the city. He quietly makes his way to the cabin, watching the cabin with the scope of his sniper rifle. He observed Colt Durant standing guard outside the cabin for about an hour, seemingly bored. When Durant took her helmet off out of boredom, Decker acted and killed her with a single head shot. He moved in fast. He found Watkins restrained and bound to the wall, beaten nearly to death. With him was the dead body of Lina. Decker freed Watkins, allowed him to give a cathartic goodbye to Lina, and the duo fled the area. Despite the Alpha Clan's efforts to capture the two, Decker and Watkins successfully eluded those that pursued them. Freelancers Fleeing to the Northern Reach, Decker and Watkins consider working as gunsmiths again. Figuring that the Alpha Clan might find them easier that way, they opt to begin working as freelancers. They found their footing quick, and they began taking on jobs and making a decent living. As their workload increased, they slowly began to recruit a handful of other freelancers to form their own crew. After some time, they accept a task to investigate a series of mutant attacks deep in the Northern Reach. During their investigation, they find themselves in a a very intense standoff with a Dragoon, Sergeant Ruiz. Once they discover they're all working towards the same goal, they decide to temporarily work together. In the end, they discover an incredibly large concentration of Durin moving into the Northern Reach. The group retreats with Durin nipping at their heels. Ruiz manages to call in multiple airstrikes, and eventually the Durin cease their pursuit. By then, half of Watkins and Decker's crew had been killed. Ruiz expresses her condolences to Watkins and Decker before heading back to her headquarters. Decker and Watkins keep their crew in the area, finding some sort of purpose in trying to fight the Durin rather than running. White Horse With more and more Durin moving from the Barren-Lands into the Northern Reach (particularly provinces like Alsace), Decker and Watkins realized they couldn't work independently any longer. With White Horse moving into the region to help fight the threat, they decided it was in their best interests to join the organization. They made a huge first impression when they fought alongside a White Horse unit during a Durin siege of a small town. The ranking White Horse officer, Brigadier Oded Rhaheim, took note of the duo's efficiency during the defense of the town. Later, when Decker and Watkins revealed they wanted to join White Horse to fight the Durin, Rhaheim gladly accepted their offer. Rhaheim went through the proper channels to give both Decker and Watkins field commissions, making them both Staff Sergeants and attaching them both to his personal security detail. Decker and Watkins both fought loyally alongside Rhaheim, resisting and pushing back the Durin advance on multiple fronts for quite some time. Rhaheim would rise to the rank of general, keeping Decker and Watkins along for the ride. Hunan Summit Eventually, Cassandra Volice reached out to all of the leaders of White Horse, inviting them to meet in Hunan to "discuss strategy." Rhaheim was invited to the meeting, and he took Decker and Watkins along with him. During the meeting, Volice revealed she had communicated with the Alpha Clan. Field Marshal McQuade, representing the Alpha Clan, then enters the conversation and lays out the details of a possible alliance between the Alpha Clan, the Guardians, and White Horse. The room is split: Half wanting to agree to the terms, and half wanting nothing to do with the Alpha Clan. Rhaheim was a part of the latter. The meeting ends on bad terms. Rhaheim tells Decker and Watkins to prepare for war, and they head back to their headquarters. Upon arriving back to their quarters, Decker and Watkins find themselves also split on their opinions: Decker wants to support the alliance, while Watkins says he'll never work with the Alpha Clan again. They come to an agreement: They'll flee once again, not wanting to be part of the coming conflict. Desertion Rhaheim confronts them before they can leave, and demands to know what side they are taking. When they reveal they simply want to leave, Rhaheim orders his men to arrest them. Decker and Watkins fight back, attempting to flee. They successfully outrun Rhaheim's troops, but not before Watkins is fatally wounded. Now on bad terms with the Alpha Clan and White Horse, medical options were very limited for Watkins. Decker decided to head towards Roommenor, constantly telling Watkins that they'll be able to "fix him up" and the duo could "get a fresh start." But Watkins' wounds are too severe, and they both knew it. They somehow managed to make it to the ocean border of the Southern Reach before Watkins began to succumb to his wounds. Knowing death was imminent, he had Decker sit him up overlooking the ocean. The two sat in silence for some time as Watkins slowly faded. Watkins let out a "Thank you for everything" to Decker before passing on. Current Whereabouts Decker fell into a heavy state of depression following the death of Watkins. As children, he told Watkins he would do everything he could to protect him. With Watkins dying, Decker felt as if he had failed and had no purpose in the world. Looking for some sort of purpose, he began traveling the world. He was last seen heading towards the Barren-Lands, reportedly planning on making his way to the Northlands.